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Be prepared for yellow-feathered goldfinches

Correspondent
Published 10:25 a.m. ET April 3, 2015

Goldfinches molt their dull feathers and replace them with bright yellow ones in spring.(Photo: Shutterstock)

Story Highlights

With warmer weather on the way, be prepared for yellow-feathered goldfinches to arrive.

Goldfinches molt their dull feathers and replace them with bright yellow ones in spring.

The male goldfinches' breeding plumage appears splotch by splotch, and can last several weeks.

Yellow-feathered splotch birds are coming to a feeder near you. Be prepared.

They come after winter, always peeping, clucking and chirping. First one will arrive, stare down and scope out your feeder. If it sees thistle seed — or heaps of sunflower hearts, neatly broken into beak-sized bites — you can count on a hoard showing up in about 30 seconds.

The other splotch birds have assembled in a staging area within calling distance. One word from their scout, and the air will start filling with a jumble of twittering calls.

In spring, they molt these dull feathers and replace them with bright yellow ones. The molt doesn't take place all at once, however. The male's breeding plumage appears splotch by splotch, creating a crazy quilt of dull and bright swatches that can last several weeks.

At this time of year, eight or 10 goldfinches at a time can be seen on a feeder, some all yellow, some still in transition.

You can observe these splotch birds if you stock your feeders through spring. You also can observe rose-breasted grosbeaks and other species that frequent feeders in spring but do not as the season progresses. The truth is, April often draws more species — and greater numbers — of birds to feeding stations than December does.

In April, your year-round residents still answer roll call — black-capped chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers and cardinals. Joining them are winter visitors, such as tree sparrows, pine siskins and redpolls. They haven't departed yet for northern breeding grounds. April also promises an influx of migratory birds from the south — juncos and white-throated sparrows. They will stock up for days before heading toward points farther north.

You can add to this crew birds such as red-winged blackbirds that arrive early on northern nesting grounds and sometimes get greeted by snow. Unable to find food in open fields, redwings and other blackbirds, such as common grackles, visit feeders for days at a time, getting help when they need it the most.

When you think about it, birds need feeders more in spring than they do in winter. By winter's end, natural food supplies, such as seeds and berries, have dwindled for year-round species. Migratory birds have grown weak and emaciated en route to their breeding grounds. They need food when they stop in your yard.

Spring also signals the start of songbird breeding season, during which resident birds expend extra energy courting and nesting.

Check out your neighborhood cardinals in days to come. From dawn until dusk, males will be chasing each other — and females. It's time to stake out a territory, find a mate, build a nest, sing a song without stopping all day. And, yes, bang your beak on a window, thinking your reflection is a trespassing rival. Tiring? It's exhausting. Birds wear themselves down to near nothing at this time of year.

You can help. Have a heart. Keep the free lunches flowing. Every red bird you know will stop by to grab seeds on the run.